I’ve got two weekends to cover so I’ll get right to it. We went to a concert in St Pardoux on the Friday night. There is an annual fund-raiser called Téléthon for research into genetic disorders, much like Jerry Lewis used to do in the States. I believe the concert had something to do with that as well as some activities for kids earlier in the day. The concert began at 8:30 and when we arrived at 9, there were around 40 people including quite a few kids. The first group was Mauvaiz Herb, the band that our neighbour Guillaume is in. They did an acoustic set of crowd-pleasers including a few in English and one or two by Téléphone, a classic French band from the 80’s and our new favourite.
Next was a solo act, a guy with guitar and some stage props who did a number of songs themed around a fictional village. It was meant for the kids but by this time, they’d all had enough music and were mostly running around the room causing a ruckus. Next up was a trio, lead singer on rhythm guitar, an alto sax and an electric violin playing lead. It was eclectic but enjoyable. Last up was a group from Perigueux called No Stress and we say them back in June when Mom was here. They did a similar set, a bit heavier rock with mostly English songs, some of them their own. They closed with a couple Clash covers so that was a bonus. It was after midnight by the time we left and there were only around 10 others still there.
The next night, we went over to Bryan and Carol’s for a few drinks after dinner. It was our first time seeing Bryan and he’s doing well all things considered. He has trouble standing for more than 10 minutes so isn’t able to get out much. He isn’t allowed alcohol and certain foods including tomatoes but hopefully, this won’t be permanent. Despite this, he is in good spirits and happy to be home. They cancelled their plans to go back to England for xmas so will have a quiet one here instead. We had a good catch-up with them and then stumbled back to ours around midnight. The next day, we met up with Josienne and her husband Cami at the little bar in Milhac. It was their 40th wedding anniversary that day so they just stayed for one before going out to lunch. Also there was Jackie who is also in my conversation group and we stayed for a second drink with her.
The weather last weekend turned cold and on Sunday night it went down to -7C and only reached 3C the next day. The temps had been falling for a few days prior to this so we started closing the shutters at night. On these nights, it gets cold in our bedroom so the cats no longer join us, preferring the big room that is still warm. Normally, it’s cooler up here in Mazeroux compared to the surrounding areas but on the way into work that Monday, it was -4C here and as low as -8C in Nontron. It was freezing in the office but I appropriated a space heater so it wasn’t too bad after that. Since then, it’s warmed up considerably and although we’ve had a few days or rain, today it’s partly cloudy with temps around 13C.
Will and I just spent an hour chainsawing logs since we’ve been blazing through them. We’ve yet to turn on the central heat but will do so before leaving for London. I also did a bit of DIY today I’m proud to report. The flame on the cooktop was dying so I changed the bottle but the flame weakened and then died completely. We figured the fault was in the regulator that you attach to the gas bottle so Will got a new one during the week. The challenge was to fit the plastic tubing over the nozzles of the regulator and the cooker. I had no joy on my first few attempts but we consulted the neighbours and they recommend soap and heat so today, after applying steam from the kettle, the hose slid right on so now we’ve got a working cooker again.
This weekend turned out to be fairly social too. We went over to Chez Beaufils, our next-door neighbour. As usual, the invitation was for aperitifs but was actually a full dinner, made mostly by Lucien. We started with a rum-based cocktail featuring tropical fruit and cinnamon, accompanied by various nibbles including dried pork meats. The first course was soup, a voulette made from cèpes and other legumes. For the main, magret de canard, cooked medium-rare served with fois gras, sautéed cèpes and haricot vert, both with plenty of garlic and parsley. This was followed by fromage and for dessert, a galette du roi, a traditional cake at this time of year served with fruit cocktail. Of course, everything was delicious with all the produce coming from their garden. We ended the night with a chartreuse, a sweet herbal liqueur that is origin of the colour of the same name. We were home around 11 and didn’t stay up.
Yesterday, I had a bit of Port 80 Services work, fixing the wifi of an recently-widowed English lady who lives near Piégut, about 30 minuts away. It only took an hour and I was back just after midday. Her husband used to do everything tech-related in the house so she may want some lessons in the new year. Otherwise, it’s been quiet on the work front for Will so he’s been working on a redesign of our site plus some new templates. I quoted for a job that would be with Abby, a former co-worker who now lives in the US but I don’t think we’re likely to win it, based on the proposal. She and her husband are professional designers and she farms out all of her tech work so there is potential for both Will and me. I’m counting down the days until I finish at BCMD (4) since I’ve not been enjoying my current project. Otherwise, things there are fine and I although I think this is the end of contracts, there may be other work for me in the future.
Last night, we had pre-xmas dinner over at Nat and Jill’s. We requested a roast dinner and Jill didn’t disappoint. We started with carrot and coriander soup and then roast pork with all the trimmings, including stewed apple. It was a most welcome meal on a December evening and since we never do roasts at home, it was a real treat. We stayed and chatted over glasses of wine and smoke until midnight. We had a cleanser at home and played a bit of Wii before turning in around 2. Will has finished nearly all of his xmas shopping with a trip into Nontron during the week and he’s even got everything wrapped. We’re mostly organised for our journey back to the UK, leaving here on Friday morning. Details in our next entry.
Happy Winter Solstice!